This post is part of a series on older child adoption in which I am applying things I learned from adopting a retired racing greyhound to hoping to adopt an older child. While there are obviously many differences, I learned a lot that can be useful in adopting an older child.

The greyhound rescue gave us lots of ideas for preparing our home for our new addition. Their number one suggestion was to purchase a crate for the dog because he had lived most of his life in a crate. Even if we did not want to restrict him in a crate forever, going from living in a small space to having the run of a whole house overnight would be overwhelming and frightening to the dog. Instant freedom can make a dog feel insecure rather than empowered.

They made suggestions for the type of food to buy as well as dog toys and treats. There were varying opinions on whether to give the toys to the dog right away (giving him something to do in the crate) or whether to wait a couple of weeks (so the dog will not become possessive because he has never had anything to call his own).

You will need to prepare your home for your older adopted child before he comes home so he can see that you love him enough to make a place for him in your home. He will need his own bed and his own space (whether that is his own room or his own part of a shared room). You will want to have some things in place to help your house feel as close to home as possible, such as beloved toys that come with him or new toys that he has expressed an interest in having.

You might want to find out your child's favorite foods and prepare those for the first few days. This is doubly important if your child has grown up in another culture with very different cuisine. If a child has lived on a rice-based diet, I would not serve him a Big Mac and French fries for his first meal. Let him have something that is familiar first because just about everything else will be new.

Make preparations before your child comes home that will ease his entry into your home. In time, he will likely embrace your love of McDonald's, but try to limit the number of adjustments the child will have to make at first.

Related Blogs:

• Older Child Adoption blog


• International Adoption blog

Photo credit: Rosanne Mooney